Youth sports have always been competitive in America, but parents and kids have gone overboard with their competitiveness. A Florida dad has officially joined the list of parents that did way too much at their child’s game and is now facing a felony battery charge after punching a 63-year-old umpire.
Caught Lacking
Jorge Ignacio Aponte-Gonzalez, 41, is accused of attacking an umpire at Liberty High School on April 18 during a baseball game.
The video shows Gonzalez walking up to the umpire — who was awaiting his replacement while standing near a gate opening to the field with his back turned — and winding back before he delivered the blow to knock him out. The umpire immediately fell to the ground. Players and coaches from both teams intervened to check on the umpire and held Gonzalez back.
The umpire was identified as 63-year-old Army veteran Ray Mora.
“That individual was not even facing me,” Mora told Fox 35 News. “At least the people who I faced when I was in combat, I saw them. I saw them in the distance. I knew they were coming. I was not even prepared.”
Mora said that he noticed violence in amateur sports is getting worse and believes it needs to be stopped.
“It needs to stop because I just got hit,” Mora said. “Maybe tomorrow somebody gets killed, then what?”
While getting arrested, Gonzalez reportedly told officers that he was “defending his kid”. Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said his kid was being disruptive and got into a verbal altercation with umpire leading up to the punch.
“He does this because he has passion for baseball, and he likes to give back to his community and he loves to dedicate his time to baseball and to kids,” Sheriff Marcos Lopez said of Mora during a news conference on Wednesday.
Kids And Parents Getting Out of Hand
Last August witnesses identified Yaqub Salik Talib, brother of former NFL defensive back Aqib Talib, as the man who killed another coach during a youth football game in Dallas, Texas. The altercation started over a disagreement about a call and the opposing coaching staffs went at it.
Last weekend, a referee and head coach threw hands during an AAU game. The coach was ejected and escorted out of the gym.
More recently, a brawl erupted in Southern California between two baseball teams at the end of the game while they were shaking hands.
We have all drawn the conclusion that there needs to be stricter penalties handed down to coaches and players for attacking referees or opposing teams. This year, high school sports in Florida had a shortage in referees and it may be because they are not feeling protected during games.
